Interesting talk at the U. of Lethbridge: The Ancient Near East in the 19th Century

Oops, I forgot to post this earlier.

Department of History Colloquium Series

Presents:

Kevin McGeough

Associate Professor, Department of Geography University of Lethbridge

The Ancient Near East in the 19th Century:
Imaginary Geographies

As Near Eastern studies developed into an academic discipline throughout the 19th century, the exploration of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Holy Land became important topics in the intellectual and popular culture of the time. Reports of exciting finds from the Near East appeared as travel narratives in the burgeoning periodical market of Victorian England. The British Museum and the Crystal Palace allowed visitors to experience the materiality of the ancient world in hyper-real settings. The theatre, the opera, and panoramic picture shows allowed viewers a glimpse of ancient society and traveling shows allowed the audience to perform Biblical and Orientalist roles. “Town-hall” style lectures and meetings established societies devoted to the exploration of the Near East appealing to theological motives as well and suggested that concerns about Victorian progress and decline could be better understood through the study of these remains. Freemasonry and Theosophy interacted with legitimate research on the Near East to fuse it with 19th century mysticism. Authors of horror and adventure fiction found the Near East to be fertile grounds for tales of terror, setting the foundation for the “mummy” movies of the 20th century. This talk will examine how the Near East and Near Eastern scholarship was presented in Victorian times and how the imagined geography of the ancient Near East contributed to the intellectual and pseudo-intellectual life of 19th century England.

Friday, October 2nd

3:00 p.m. – C-610